Packer.



PATENTED MAY a, 190e.

G. A. SPANG.

PACKER.

APPLIUATION FILED rms,17,19oe.

.UNITED STA'WALENT AOFFICE,-v

GEORGE A. SPANG, OF BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA. f f

Y PACKER. i

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE A. SPANG, a citizen of the United States, residing at Butler, in the county of Butler and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Packers, of which the following` is a speciication, reference being had therein tothe accompanying draw- 1n s.

tgfhis invention has reference to that type of packers for oil and gas wells wherein the ends of the rubber packer-sleeve are secured to the packer-frame, the latter collapsing or folding when setting the packer, sothat when the collapsed frame is expanded for removing or resetting the packer the then contracted rubber sleeve is caused to straighten out into normal shape, whereby it may be raised or lowered and reset or removed from the well. l

The primary object of the invention is to provide a novel reinforcement for the rubber sleeve, and particularly the ends thereof, sol

that it is quite'impossible for high-pressure gas or oil to work its way behind the sleeve at the ends thereof. At the same time the sleeve ends are so strengthened and held as not to be torn or stripped oif by irregularties or projections on the well-wall.

A further object is to so combine the endsecuring means and the sleeve-reinforcement that the sleeve ends are secured to the packerframe without danger of the rubber stripping therefrom however great the pull or pressure may be, this without detracting from the expansive and packing properties of the sleeve.-

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a view, partly in side elevation andpartly in section, of a wall-packer of well-known type equipped with my improvement.. Fig. 2 is a detail view of the packer-sleeve. Fig. 3 is a sectional view of a sleeve of modified form.V Fig. 4 is a detail view of one of the sleeve-endsecuring devices.

Referring to the drawings, 2 designates the tubular body of the packer-frame, 3 the upper collar' or head secured thereto, and 4` the lower collar, through which tube 2 is adapted to lower when setting the packer, as

is well. known to those skilled in the art.

'The anchor mechanism, includingl wedging-slips 5 for holding collar 4 against downward movement, is of usual and well-known construction and forms no-part ofthe present invention. Encircling tube 2 between collars 3 and 4' spcification gf Letters Patent. Application led February 17, 1906. Serial No. 301,586

Patented may s, 1906.

is the rubber packer-sleeve 6, having at its opposite ends the annular or ring-like devices 7, which form end continuations of the sleeve. Each of these devices-is provided with a reduced inner portion 8.', an annular shoulder 7 being formed at thefjuncture of parts 7 and 8, Extension 8 is embedded in the rubber sleeve and has a seri-es of openings 8', in which the ends of iiexible reinforcingstrips 9 are secured. These embedded strips, formed, preferably, of canvas, extendlongitudinally through the sleeve from endto end, thus connecting the opposite annular devices 7 and relieving the rubber of longitudinal strains when such strain would otherwise occur. However, the reinforcing-strips may extend only part way through the sleeve, as.

shown at 9', Fig. 3.

Each of heads 3 and 4 is turned 0H at its inner end to receive rings 7, secured thereto by screws 10, the arrangement being such that the reduced extremitiesof the collars form abutments for the inner edge portions of the sleeve extremities, while the outer portions abut against shoulders 7 of rings 7.

With the reinforcing and securing means arranged as here shown and described the rubber sleeve cannot strip -or be curled oif even if high-pressure gas or oil should work its way between the sleeve and tube 2, though such passage of oil and gas is rendered quite impossible.

As is well known, when a packer is set the frame thereof is contracted and the hole sealed by the rubber sleeve being contracted longitudinally and bulged laterally between collars 3 and 4. To remove the packer, it is drawn upward, and instead of the rubber remaining contracted and wedged between the well-wall and tube 2 it is caused t'o straighten out or expand along with the packer-frame, the union between the sleeve and frame being such that it is quite impossible for the rubber to resist this straightening tendency. The sleeve is thus restored to normal shape for reuse as may be required.

I am aware that I am not the rst' to secure the ends of the rubber sleeve to the packer-frame nor the l'irst to provide a securin device embedded inthe sleeve end. Also it Iias been proposed heretofore to reinforce the sleeve by embedding therein strips of flexible material, which extend longitudi nally thereof. I believe, however, that I am the iirst to provide a packer-sleeve with an embedded rmg-like or other securing device IIO and to connect thereto flexible reinforcements which extend still fartherk into the sleeve, as Well as the first to positively connect the. op osite end-securing devices so that When fiilly expanded the sleeve is relieved of all longitudinal strain. B thus combining the end-securing device with the embedded exible reinforcement I have produced a packer-sleeve which Will positively and permanently resist all tearing or stripping strains, Whether caused by hi h-pressure oil or gas, by irregularities in-.tIie Well- Wall, or by the resistance Which the rubber offers to straightening out when unseating the packer. I thus gain the full advantage of the packing or sealing properties of the rubber, the fiexibility thereof being unretarded. At the same time the end-securing devices and reinforcement are so connected to each other and to the rubber that separation from any cause is rendered practically impossible.

I claim- 1. As an article of manufacture, a rubber packer-sleeve, a device carried by the sleeve or detachably connecting With the packerframe, and flexible reinforcements secured to said device and embedded in the rubber sleeve.

2. As an article of manufacture, a rubber packer-sleeve, an annular device at the end of the sleeve for detachably connecting With the packer-frame, and flexible reinforcements secured to said device and embedded in the rubber sleeve.

3. As an article of manufacture, a rubber packer-sleeve, an annular securing device at the end of and artially embedded in the rubber sleeve, and iexible reinforcements embedded in the sleeve and secured to the embedded portion of said device.

4. As an article of manufacture, a rubber packer-sleeve, an annular device at the end of the sleeve for detachably connecting with the packer-frame, and strips of iexible material extending longitudinally of and embedded inthe rubber sleeve and secured to With a packer-frame, and flexible reinforcements extending longitudinally through and embeddedin the sleeve and secured at their opposite ends to said annular devices.

7. T he combination with a tubular packerbody, and a collar therefor, of a rubber sleeve embracin the body, an annular device at the end o the sleeve and embedded therein, means for securing the devices to said collar, and flexible reinforcements embedded in the rubber and secured to said annular device.

8. The combination with a packer-body and a collar therefor having a reduced inner end, of a rubber sleeve embracin the packerbody, an annular device secure to the end of the sleeve and fitting said reduced portion of the collar, and iiexible reinforcements embedded in the rubber and secured to said annular device.

9. The combination with a' tubular packerbody, and a collar therefor reduced exteriorly at its inner end, a rubber sleeve embracing *the tubular body, an annular device carried by the sleeve and adapted to be secured to the reduced portion of the collar, said device havin a reduced inner portion embedded in t e rubber, the outer portion of the edge of the sleeve abutting against the unreduced portion of said annular device and the inner portion of the edge abutting against the extremity of the collar, and flexible reinforcements embedded in the rubber sleeve and secured to the embedded reduced portion of the annular device.

10. The combination of a tubular packerbody, se arated collars therefor-one movable Wit relation to the other,` a rubber sleeve, an annular device carried by each end of the sleeve, means for securin said devices to the packer-collars, and exi le reinforcements embedded in the rubber sleeveand secured to said annular devices.

11. The combination of a tubular packerbody, collars therefor-one movable With relation to `the other, a rubber sleeve, annular devices carried by opposite ends of the sleeve, 'means for securing said devices to the ackercollars, and flexib e strips extending ongitu- .dinallynf and embeddedin the rubber sleeve and at their opposite ends secured'to said an nular devices.

In testimony whereof I aix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

. GEORGE A. SPANG. Witnesses:

L. E. ROBINSON, JAMES O. CAMPBELL.

IOO 

